Martin Ellis, Dimitrios P. Pezaros, Theodore Kypraios, and Colin Perkins
Computer Networks, volume 70, pages 384--399,
September 2014.
DOI:10.1016/j.comnet.2014.05.013
The packet loss characteristics of Internet paths that include
residential broadband links are not well understood, and there are no
good models for their behaviour. This complicates the design of
real-time video applications targeting home users, since it is
difficult to choose appropriate error correction and concealment
algorithms without a good model for the types of loss observed. Using
measurements of residential broadband networks in the UK and Finland,
we show that existing models for packet loss, such as the Gilbert model
and simple hidden Markov models, do not effectively model the loss
patterns seen in this environment. We present a new two-level Markov
model for packet loss that can more accurately describe the
characteristics of these links, and quantify the effectiveness of this
model. We demonstrate that our new packet loss model allows for
improved application design, by using it to model the performance of
forward error correction on such links.
Download: ellis2014two-level.pdf